29 Dec

Yuletide Greetings! This time of year is always full of life and energy for Pagans and non-Pagans alike. Even before I walked this path, I loved the Yule season. Christmas is often one of the hardest holidays to “give up” for new Pagans, but understanding the actual roots of the holiday makes them realize that Christmas is more Pagan than it is on first glance. While Christmas is celebrated on December 25th, the Yule celebration takes place around December 20th. It sometimes falls on the 21st. Yule is the shortest day of the year and has the longest night. Yule is a celebration of death, rebirth, family, togetherness and accomplishments of the previous year.On the day of Yule the Holly King (which represents the death aspect of the God) is overcome by the Oak King (who represents rebirth). The Oak King rules for the half of the year between Yule and Summer Solstice, and the Holly King rules the other half. Some traditions invoke the Scandinavian Fertility God of Frey. He is associated with peace and prosperity.

The colors of the Yule season are red and green, seen in modern Christian traditions. Together, red and green represent fertility and growth in the coming season. To make your altar ready for Yule, place a piece of holly bush on it. During your Yule ritual, write down your hopes for the next year. Concentrate your energy on the paper and know that the God and Goddess will hear your request. After you are finished, place the holly into the fire (ideally with your Yule log). This is a simple but effective Yule time spell.

I find it amusing each year to see so many folks of other religions participating in what were traditionally Pagan rituals. Many of the Christmas traditions that others hold dear today actually have their roots in the Old Religion. Learning about this can help you see the whole season in a new light.

The Christmas tree is used in most households celebrating Christmas. Christians take time and care to select just the right ornaments and right lights to bring the season indoors. The Christmas tree is a variation on the Yule tree, whose lights and ornaments symbolized the sun, moon and stars on the Tree of Life. The tree decorations also represent the souls of those who have left us during the previous year. Yule is a time of remembrance and looking back to the past year, with hope for the future as well. The Ancients also offered sacred presents by tying them to Yule tree. These were left to honor deities of celebration, such as Dionysus. The modern form of this practice can be seen in leaving treats out for Santa (the deity of secular Christmas) and the giving of presents to one another.

The Druids are responsible for another common Yule tradition, hanging mistletoe and holly. Mistletoe is very magickal and is often referred to as the Golden Bough. It possesses healing powers and the Druids believed it allowed men access to the Underworld. The Mistletoe and Holly together represent the Great God and Goddess.

The Yule log is also a tradition borrowed from the Old Religion. The Yule bonfire gives renewed life, and brings the power of the sun to the festivities. Yule is the time that the sun is ‘reborn’, for after the solstice (the shortest day of the year) the sun begins to grow in power.

As you see, Yule is an ancient tradition that has been adapted into the modern world. Much of what it was still lives on, not only for Pagans but in Christian traditions as well. I hope this gives you perspective on this holiday season.
Love And Light,

Rose Ariadne, Your Warm And Caring “Resident Witch In Charge”

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15 Dec

After years of dreading seeing her at family functions, and putting up with her rude comments and mean behavior I decided to ice her. And you can too to anyone that has become an annoyance to you.

Putting someone on ice is just one of the binding techniques that you can use to limit someone’s influence in your life and prevent them from doing you harm. Binding charms are simple, yet effective, ways to reduce gossip and remove harmful people from your life. Please note that these types of spells do not violate the Wiccan Rede because you are only removing the person from your life, which is your space and your domain. You are not preventing them from conducting their life elsewhere. You just want them out of your life. This technique is also effective in removing all of the negative responses you have to the person’s actions.

One of the best parts about this simple binding spell is that it can be done quickly and easily. Before you bind someone, make sure that you really do want him or her out of your life. Don’t use this is your friend happened to tick you off the day before, or if your neighbor annoys you. I’ve only done this after I’ve had a consistent or long-term problem with someone, such as my cousin. It was getting the point with her where I was having panic attacks before seeing her. She would call all the time, and make snide remarks veiled in a cloak of niceness. About a year ago, I decided I had enough. I performed the following binding spell and noticed a difference within just a few days. The feeling of release that I felt and comfort in knowing that I would be free of her was life-changing.

All of these binding spells require a picture of the person that you want to bind. If you don’t happen to have a picture you can write down his or her name on a piece of paper and use that instead. The first type of binding is the type I used with my cousin. I gathered my normal ritual items to my altar, and also brought a black candle, a small Tupperware dish filled with water, and the picture of my cousin.

After grounding and centering, casting the circle and calling the corners, I focused on my cousin and the hurtful presence she’d had in my life. I pictured all of my negative feelings toward her and the pain that she had caused. I visualized it coming out of my body through the top of my head and entering the container of water before me. I then took the picture of my cousin, folded it three times and placed it inside of the bowl of water. I repeated to myself “I bind you from hurting me, I bind you from hurting me, I bind you from hurting me.” After I thanked the deities and closed the circle, I placed the container in the back of my freezer. She stopped calling a few weeks later and her presence in my life has been much less since that day.

Remember to use the freezer binding spell with caution. When you perform the spell, you are not only freezing the person’s negative presence in your life, but you are freezing along with it all of your negative feelings toward that person. When you visualize the negativity exiting you and entering the container, you are freeing yourself from holding onto those emotions any longer. There’s no reason for you to hold onto them.

I sincerely hope that you never have a need for this binding spell, but if you do, I assure you that it does work and it will increase the quality of your relationships with others.

Brightest Blessing,

Rose Ariadne, Your Warm And Caring “Resident Witch In Charge”

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08 Dec

There are many items that you’ll need in the practice of magick that won’t be part of your standard altar pieces. We’ve discussed before the altar tools, their purposes and what you should look for, but this time I wanted to talk about the other essentials to magick. I call these my magickal pantry. When you have a well-stocked magickal pantry, you’ll be able to a variety of spells at the drop of the hat, sometimes with the purchase of just a few extra items.While there is something exciting about shopping specifically for one spell and making a trip to the occult shop, frankly, it can sometimes be a pain in the butt. With a good magickal pantry, you’ll be freer to explore different types of spells and magick without making return trips to the shop or paying extra shipping online for multiple orders. Plus, when you buy certain items in bulk, you might find good discounts. A frugal witch is a mindful witch!

The first necessary item on my magickal pantry list is candles. Lots and lots of candles. While you’ll have your pillar Goddess and God candles for your altar, and perhaps your candles for each of the four elements, you’ll want to get your hands on some good spell candles. These are normally about the size of a roll of dimes and can be bought anywhere from .10 to .25 each. I buy white candles in bulk, and then have a collection of other helpful colors. Green for luck, money and job spells. Pink for healing, love and children. Red for passion, quick action and motivation. Purple for psychic energy, meditation and visions. Black for banishing and withdrawing things from your life. There are many other colors that you can use and you can refer to any good correspondence chart to find out what they mean. When you buy, think about the magick that you most often create, and purchase accordingly.

The great thing about these little spell candles, as opposed to tea lights or votives, is that they burn rather quickly. Since you’ll want to leave any candle you use in a spell burning to release the magickal energy, these are great because they don’t present that much of a fire hazard. If you do your spell in the early night hours, you won’t be going to bed with tons of candles lit. I know! I’m a mom, I think about these things.

Herbs are another essential magickal pantry item. I always have sage on hand, in little bundles and loose as well. I also use cinquefoil (which is a good herb for money and luck spells), mugwort (for divinatory purposes), borage (for courage), daisy and dill (for love), hyacinth (for purification), nettle (for protection), rosemary (for friendship and fidelity) and marjoram (for peace and joy).

You’ll also want some incense in your pantry. Both loose incense and loose herbs can be burned using a fireproof dish and some charcoal. You’ll want to get the kind of charcoal that is used to ignite hookahs, and this can be bought in rolls of ten or in a large box rather inexpensively. it’s often worth it to look for charcoal in ethnic food markets, because the price will often be much, much lower than at your local occult shop. For example, a roll of 10 at the local Indian market costs me $1.49 whereas the same roll is $4.00 at the pagan bookstore.

Other odds and ends that you will need include parchment (for which you can substitute blank brown paper bags), felt, thread and needles, buttons, string and natural objects such as rocks, twigs, feathers and pressed flowers. These crafty items can be used to create pouches for spells, poppets and other magickal projects. A word on feathers: While I used to freely collect these from my neighborhood, due to the avian flu I highly recommend buying these from a craft store instead.

You can also add any items that you use on a regular basis, such as sea salt, to your magickal pantry. These items can be kept in one place (I know people who use a tackle box) or stored in a closet along with other household things.

So like a good boy scout, be prepared — and stock your magickal pantry!
Love And Light,

Rose Ariadne, Your Warm And Caring “Resident Witch In Charge”

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01 Dec

Let’s face it, we pagans are not the most welcome in parts of the world. it’s something that I have struggled with a lot overtime. I’ve been frustrated with my inability to make it clear to people that we are not Satanists or baby killers, that our religion is founded on a love of nature, and a love of other people, and especially a love of the God and Goddess. I know I am not alone in this frustration because the outside world definitely has its opinion set in stone when it comes to witchcraft. Thanks to some bad propaganda from the ancient Christian church, we’ve been branded for life, it seems, as something that is so far from the truth it would be funny if it weren’t so hurtful.

It’s no wonder that many people choose to hide their beliefs. While I’ve been living out of the broom closet for years, I understand that it may be a difficult thing to tell people that you are a pagan or witch. For some believers, this is just something that they are not ready to do. And no others on this path should judge them for it. Everyone comes out in their own time, and while they are “in hiding” so to speak, there are ways to keep their faith discreet without necessarily being two sided.

One of the first sticky situations that I’ve counseled people on is setting up sacred space in roommate situations. While this certainly isn’t a problem if you are sharing an apartment and have your own room, sharing a room is quite another manner. I’ve known many college students who have struggled with trying to practice their religion without freaking out their roommate and having ‘the talk. I always have thought that this was a perfect opportunity to get out in nature and get to know the deities in their original “house of worship.” After all, this is why witches used to practice mainly under the cover of darkness and out in a forest somewhere. If there’s no forest handy, find a discreet park to do your ritual. You can also try to coordinate things around your roommate’s schedule. Pick a time where you know he or she will be at work. Or sneak out into the living room when he or she is fast asleep. With a little ingenuity, you can find time for your rituals. This method works for living with family members who are not supportive of the craft as well.

The other main problem with living with others who are not pagan friendly is trying to set up an altar space. While ideally an altar should be somewhere you should set up and leave up, I understand that this is not always practical. Consider investing in a medium sized wooden box that can be used as a makeshift altar and that can store your items away from prying eyes. You’ll have to set it up each time, but the magickal energy will be stored in one specific location.

I’ve gotten in trouble in the past for my views on “hiding.” Others say we should all come “out” immediately and that giving tips for hiding your religion is making it seem less serious and like a bad thing. I disagree, obviously. Sometimes hiding your faith is practical, and necessary. And in my opinion, It’s not so much hiding as being selectively truthful. When it comes down to it, your religion is your own, and it’s really nobody’s business. If you already know that people are going to become confrontational and do not feel ready to defend yourself, it is perfectly okay to be low key about your faith and keep things to yourself. Belief is a very private thing. We’re not Evangelical Christians after all, and we’re not obligated to spread the Goddesses’ “word” on people who really don’t want to hear it. Be comfortable with your religion at the stage you are at, whether that means keeping your altar in your closet or having a big pentagram on the back of your car.

Love And Light,

Rose Ariadne, Your Warm And Caring “Resident Witch In Charge”

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